A window in Burgos Cathedral

[Bert45]

Yet another question about Burgos Cathedral!
I have forgotten exactly where I was when I took the photo, it's not important, but, if you know where the window is, I'd be pleased to know. My question is: What does Opera Fabrice mean? I know the literal meaning of 'opera': Works. Fabrice: the building. S, perhaps, "works on the building". But what does that mean and why display it in a window? There is a date at the top, 1547. Above the word 'Opera', there is a man's head. It looks like someone from antiquity, Greek or Roman. At the bottom, there is a crown. Above the word 'Fabrice' there is a woman's head, I'm hard pushed to say what she looks like. At the bottom there is what I think is a cardinal's cap. If you can explain any of the symbolism, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

No guarantees that I am even close, but I am going to take a stab that “opera fabrice” refers to building heaven on earth. (There’s a whole theological view — that I learned from a Jesuit, and which I heard repeated by a visiting celebrant in the little chapel in Santiago — that earth is not separate from heaven… and that it is our job to work to reveal heaven and its workings on earth). The rest of it I would not try to interpret, but I remain awed, always… by the semiotics that are nearly hopelessly beyond my ability to read, and would have been the lingua franca of ordinary people in the time of their creation.
I’d love to hear from someone qualified, and not simply trying to grope around as I am for meaning out of a few familiar stories centuries away from context.

 

[Kathor1]

No guarantees that I am even close, but I am going to take a stab that “opera fabrice” refers to building heaven on earth

You are not.

 

[Kathor1]

Many of us who wandered into Burgos Cathedral may have looked up and taken a photo or two of the ceilings. I certainly did. Such as the one shown below. Whose camera or whose eyesight was good enough to spot the inscription right in the middle of one cupola that says "Ecclesie opera fabrice"?

And I am wondering: How many photos did @Bert45 take in the Cathedral of Burgos over the years and how many of those photos will give rise to a new forum thread?

--->

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

You are not.

Care to be more helpful?

 

[Kathor1]

I have forgotten exactly where I was when I took the photo, it's not important, but, if you know where the window is, I'd be pleased to know.

It is useful to know where you took the photo, it provides helpful context for these quests. Couldn't you tell from the photos you took before and afterwards?

You took the photo of the window in question in one of the passageways that serve as museum for the Cathedral of Burgos:

 

[Bert45]

You are right (as always), Katar1na. I sometimes seem to forget that I am using a digital camera, capable of taking hundreds, if not thousands, of photos before it is full. On my first camino (2003), I was still using film, and had to be economical with shots. I still have that mind-set at times. So I should have taken more wide-angle photos, like yours, to show the location of the close-up. I took 59 photos of the cathedral this year, 5 outside, the rest inside. I took 94 photos inside the cathedral in 2016. But I haven't taken a photo of the ceiling in your photo, Kathar1na. Where is that? I found a photo like yours when I googled "opera fabrice"
I could have said that the photo of the window was taken between The Chapel of Santiago and an outside (inside) shot of the cloister, but I thought it didn't matter, as my question was all about the window and all the information was in the widow.
I usually take a photo of the information displayed with any chapel or other item of interest, so there won't be many more questions, if any, about Burgos Cathedral. But I've yet to get to León in my photo review. I'm making a photobook of my photos. It's taking forever!

 

[alexwalker]

In Latin, Ecclesie seems to mean "Church".
Opera fabrice seems to mean "work on the fabric" Another place it says maybe "Work of the carpenter".

Just some Google results.

 

[DreamWeaver]

Is it refer to union or guild of master builders, stone maisons of sorts?

 

[Kathor1]

Is it refer to union or guild of master builders, stone maisons of sorts?

Could be. Not necessarily those who actively built but those who financed as patrons or sponsors.

In case I have not yet mentioned it , I find context useful. The window dates from 1547. That's 300 years after the first stones for the Gothic Cathedral of Burgos were laid in 1221-1230 and still nearly 100 years after the "long period of the Gothic style is completed in the cathedral" in 1460-1475 as it says on the Historical Milestones that are described on the Cathedral's own website. We just have to count back 300 years from now to get an inkling of what such a difference means.

On the night of March 3 to 4, 1539, they say, a cupola (the main one I think) collapsed. On the same day, the Cathedral Chapter met to seek a remedy and give order how to rebuild it. The authorities and the people of Burgos enthusiastically and generously supported this purpose. The website continues: Already in 1540 the reconstruction of a new cupola began. To tell the truth, the cathedral suffered a huge deterioration due to the collapse, but in turn [it gained] a great joy with this new work.

The website continues to say that the period from 1540 to 1560 [this is the timeframe for our window] was a period of major new work in the Cathedral and annexes that incorporated features of the Renaissance. Later they mention further remodelling according to the devotion of the time or the proposals of the patrons.

Elsewhere I read that Burgos at the time was prosperous and full of noblemen (and noblewomen) and wealthy merchants. They hobnobbed with the top hierarchy of the Cathedral. This was no longer the Middle Ages with the fear and expectation of an imminent Day of Last Judgment and the promise of the glorious New Jerusalem, i.e. the location on earth where all true believers will spend eternity with God - medieval concepts that the architecture of Gothic cathedrals aims to visualise. Times had changed. A new continent America had just been discovered. So perhaps the window marks a donation or a sponsorship.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I loved the Burgos cathedral. The walls were very bright and not dark and oppressive. I loved taking pictures of its beautiful ceilings. These two reminded me of snowflakes.

 

[Kathor1]

You are right (as always), Katar1na.

Not always, not at all always . But tiny bits of information and context can be helpful. Like in this case, that the window is not inside the cathedral building as such. BTW, I don't think that I have ever seen as many scenes of the Crucifixion in one place as in these passageways. I hope you did not take a photo of each of them and have a question for each.

 

[J.Patrick]

I was in the cathedral of Siena and while waiting in line to get in, I asked what the “opera” was, as it was showing up on modern signs, and if I understood correctly, the word is still being used at that cathedral for the administration that cares for the upkeep of the cathedral buildings and campus. So not so much religious in nature as simply practical.

 

[Perambulating Griffin]

I was in the cathedral of Siena and while waiting in line to get in, I asked what the “opera” was, as it was showing up on modern signs, and if I understood correctly, the word is still being used at that cathedral for the administration that cares for the upkeep of the cathedral buildings and campus. So not so much religious in nature as simply practical.

I am pondering, following Katharina's post, whether the work of maintaining such things can ever be fully separated from the religious. We have a care-taker in our parish... his work is nothing if not practical, but it is occasionally also very beautiful (he built the new service alter from old pews and the decommissioned communion rail when the front pews were removed for accessible seating); we also have a chef (French culinary school) who makes 3 course meals every day for those in need, and our parish priest was the one who got the professional kitchen built in the basement during lockdowns so that people on the street could receive proper and tasty food. It's all very practical stuff.... and yet, it is also motivated by faith...
I am not certain the the "opera fabrice" is only an acknowledgement of labour/building -- it *is* that, but it connotes more than that... "glorifying God with [y]]our lives" kind of stuff. Even now. And my understanding, such as it is, is that every church, no matter how small is a little place for heaven on earth to be found...
Perhaps not... perhaps people only do things for prestige or power or a pay-cheque... but I hope not...

 

[Kathor1]

Thanks to the kind tip from a forum member, I looked for and found two other decorations in the Burgos Cathedral with the inscription Ecclesie opera fabrice - see below.

There are apparently more of them throughout the Cathedral and not only on the ceilings of the cupolas. They remind me of the "Donating Member" label here on the forum or of the European Union logos for financing infrastructure and renovations of old building including albergues along the Caminos through their ERDF programs. "Here you see our money at work for your benefit".

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[Kathor1]

There are apparently more of them throughout the Cathedral and not only on the ceilings of the cupolas.

I finally found an example. The photo shown below was taken by a participant of a guided tour of the Cathedral of Burgos.

IOW, the inscription OPERA FABRICE on the window of 1547 is not specific to the window as this inscription can be found on various other items in the Cathedral.

 

[Kathor1]

Last but not least two similar heraldic windows from the Cathedral of Burgos together with the window from the first post.

I see: Similar design. The coat of arms on the right is ecclesiastical, the one on the left is secular. In the last of the three windows, the bottom part is missing and the coats of arms are cut off - the window is not in its original place, it had been moved to where it is now on display and may even have been kept in storage for years. The dates are 1547 and 2002 - the Cathedral renovates old windows and recreates new windows to replace those that have been lost, for example during the Napoleonic wars in Spain, and it seems that they keep the tradition of marking them with "opera fabrice" or a similar expression which is on all three windows.

There is a lot of material to add as a caption for a phonebook. There are no names of the patrons but are individual names the most important thing in this context?

 

[Bert45]

Thanks to the kind tip from a forum member, I looked for and found two other decorations in the Burgos Cathedral with the inscription Ecclesie opera fabrice - see below.

There are apparently more of them throughout the Cathedral and not only on the ceilings of the cupolas. They remind me of the "Donating Member" label here on the forum or of the European Union logos for financing infrastructure and renovations of old building including albergues along the Caminos through their ERDF programs. "Here you see our money at work for your benefit".

View attachment 179149 --- View attachment 179151

Thanks, Kathar1na. Does 'Opera Fabrice' on its own mean anything without 'Ecclesie'? What I'm looking for is a caption for my photo. "The window bears the date 1547." I'd like to add what "Opera Fabrice" means (in fewer than 20 words). Any suggestions? (Serious ones, preferably.)

 

[Kathor1]

Does 'Opera Fabrice' on its own mean anything without 'Ecclesie'?

Yes.

I am still struggling a bit with this wording in medieval Latin but there is no doubt in my mind about the meaning. Here is a defining quote from the book "La catedral de Burgos; guía historica-descriptiva" by Angel Dotor y Municio, published in 1928. The author is a Spanish art historian. The quote says: el letrero OPERA FABRICE, indicador de haber costeado la propia Iglesia las obras de esta capilla - [there is] the sign saying OPERA FABRICE which indicates that the church itself had paid for the works in this chapel.

I found several other quality sources similar to this book that say the same.

What I'm looking for is a caption for my photo. "The window bears the date 1547." I'd like to add what "Opera Fabrice" means (in fewer than 20 words). Any suggestions? (Serious ones, preferably.)

I would be the wrong person to ask as I am not a native speaker of English and I cannot think of something that is equivalent in English. SPONSOR: CATHEDRAL perhaps ???

I myself would probably just write that OPERA FABRICE means that the manufacture and installation of the window was paid for [or financed] by the Cathedral.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

"Commissioned by the church" ???

 

[Kathor1]

I am still struggling a bit with this wording in medieval Latin

The grammar really kept me awake but I've got it now. "Proper" Latin is opera fabricae. But, apparently, in the Middle Ages, they used a different orthography were "ae" was spelled as "ę" (e caudata) or just as "e", hence opera fabrice. Phew.

 

[Kathor1]

Isn't it nice when knowledge gaps get filled?

Church fabric is a known expression in English. Churches in England and Ireland have a church fabric fund, for example the Lincoln Cathedral Fabric Fund. See also the Catholic Encyclopaedia and their entries for fabrica.

As to spelling in Medieval Latin, another common feature is apparently the widely known fact that the letter "h" can be added to or deleted from a Classical Latin word and that a medieval document can contain different spellings of the same word and this is not a "typo". Hence it should not be a surprise when the name Urraca is also spelled as Huraca. @Bert45 had wondered about this in a related thread: I suppose that Huraca is a variant of Urraca, in Basque or Navarrese or some other dialect.

So that is settled, too: The spelling of the queen's name on the tomb looks unusual to us but the reason is not Basque, Navarrese or some other dialect, it is due to spelling conventions in Medieval Latin that considered such orthographic variations as the norm. I now wonder whether people vented about this on social media at the time.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I now wonder whether people vented about this on social media at the time.

Well, underneath the sarcophagus there is inscribed "Noli me reprehendere. Indicavi episcopo nomen eius Huraca non esse."

 

[Germander]

“Opera Fabrice” basically means “the work of craftsmen” - so it’s probably a way of thanking and acknowledging all the men, and women, who built the cathedral.

 

[Kathor1]

“Opera Fabrice” basically means “the work of craftsmen” - so it’s probably a way of thanking and acknowledging all the men, and women, who built the cathedral.

It doesn't. It basically means "Commissioned by the Cathedral" - see post #20 and earlier posts.

It is Ecclesiastical Latin:
opera - singular nominative
fabrice - short for fabricae, singular genitive.

 

[Pilgrim9]

Thank you, Kathor1, for educating us.

If some works were marked "Opera Fabrica[e]" to indicate they were commissioned by the Cathedral, does that mean that other works in the Cathedral were commissioned by other parties?

If yes, who might they have been? Please.

 

[Kathor1]

@Bert45, here is something about the story of this window (see image). The Spanish text says:

This Renaissance heraldic stained-glass window was made for the main chapel of Burgos Cathedral in 1547. It was dismantled around 1885. It was found in the storerooms of the cathedral in 2001. It underwent a comprehensive restoration by the Burgos company Vidrieras Barrio, and now it can be admired in the cloister.​

Source: Info Turismo Burgos (Twitter account)

 

[Kathor1]

The Spanish War of Independence (Napoleonic Wars) ended for Burgos in 1813 with the explosion of the castle nearby when the French army retreated and were instructed to destroy the castle with explosives eliminating any military value or documentary material that could be useful for the other parties to the war.

The explosion shook the entire city and had a devastating effect on the Gothic and Renaissance stained glass windows in the Cathedral [see Historical Milestones on the Cathedral's website].

Some of the debris and damaged glass was kept and is used for restoration today. There are numerous news articles and YouTube videos about the contemporary restoration/recreation efforts by the renowned Barrio family enterprise. Amazing work. Amazing talent.

 

[Kathor1]

For future reference:

Fabrica ecclesiae, redirected from Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) on Wikipedia.​

​

Wikipedia articles may not always be 100% accurate but this is a rather long article with a comprehensive explanation in English and it is better than not knowing anything at all about the 16th century meaning of this expression.